GUWAHATI: In a positive development, the Barpeta Medical College and Hospital’s laboratory was accredited by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct tests for coronavirus on March 30.
It became the fifth testing centre in Assam for COVID-19 and would help in conducting more tests for coronavirus in the state. Prior to this, Assam had four testing centres including Guwahati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), Jorhat Medical College, Silchar Medical College and Dibrugarh Medical College.
Health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to twitter and wrote: “Happy to inform that Barpeta Medical college laboratory is accredited by ICMR for COVID-19 testing from today. It becomes the 5th lab of Assam to achieve this. This will further enhance our capacity for a much wider community testing, especially in lower Assam.”
It is to be mentioned that no positive case for COVID-19 has been detected in Assam till now.
Further, Sarma also mentioned that 4.7 lakh surgical masks were released for front line health workers on Monday, March 30 to ensure their safety during screening of suspected COVID-19 patients.
